Showing results by author "World History" in All Categories

On the morning of June 1, 1921, a White mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing Black from White in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and obliterated a Black community then celebrated as one of America's most prosperous. Thirty-four square blocks of Tulsa's Greenwood community, known then as the Black Wall Street of America, were reduced to smoldering rubble.

With a bit of insight into the Native American culture, paired with a larger understanding of how the settlers of the west actually lived, you'll be able to decipher what happened to the Oatman family of your own accord, empowering an honest understanding of this history. In The Captivity of the Oatman Girls, you’ll discover powerful insight into the truth of the relations between the settlers and the Plains Indians of North America, why the actions of the colonists in the late 18th century bordered genocide - and how this shifted the landscape forever, and more.

On the West coast of Africa there once, the Mali empire in its Golden Age was once bigger than the entirety of Western Europe put together, made possible by the efforts of one man Mansa Musa the Sultan of Mali. He was the richest man to have ever lived, worth 400 billion dollars in today's terms, his gold mines supplied the British Empire and the rest of the European Empires for 800 years, despite the dry desolate environment of Mali he founded the greatest center of learning in all of world Timbuktu, his great holy pilgrimage to Mecca was the greatest the world had seen.

On the 12th of October 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas, and enslaved the native population. This was the start of the greatest crimes against humanity. For 400 years, 12 million men, women and children were sold and shipped across the Atlantic Ocean; this was known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

Join your host Dr Fiona Richards as she interviews our Experts on History! We'll meet historians, archaeologists and curators who are experts in their field and hear about the lives of people who have made history their jobs, learn fascinating facts about the past, and go on a journey through world history. Fiona also includes questions for our experts that were sent in by WHE readers. 

Historians have extensively studied the Old and New Testaments and used the scriptures to trace the rise of one of the world's earliest civilisations. Although it's difficult to confirm the stories in the Bible from a historical perspective, it's possible that myths originated from real events. This is why geologists are investigating the truth about the Flood and Noah's Ark, meteorologists and biologists are trying to understand the ten plagues that affected Egypt, and biblical scholars are searching for evidence of catastrophes that might have destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Are you interested in Caribbean history? More specifically, in the Arawakan people? One of the indigenous tribes of the Caribbean, the Arawakans are a fascinating study in how culture and social order can be disrupted and wiped out by one historical event - the colonizers’ arrival. This account explores the Arawakan people and their culture in detail, together with an exploration of the events surrounding Christopher Columbus’s arrival and what followed - the Arawakans were forced to change their social institutions and forget. Explore their culture and social institutions:

German tanks rolled unimpeded across the Russian steppes at the start of Hitler’s campaign against the Soviet Union. But in 1943, the so-called Slavic "untermensch" (subhumans) gain the initiative and transform the country into a hell for Hitler’s invasion forces. Nearly 100,000 Germans are captured after the Battle of Stalingrad at the beginning of the year. Ahead lies cold, hunger and ill-treatment, and only five percent of prisoners will return to Germany after the war.

As World War II raged across the Russian steppes, in Africa and especially in the skies over Europe, elite German and Soviet forces fought a bitter battle in an isolated northern corner of Europe. Here, the battle was for control of the ice-free port of Murmansk, where the Soviet Union received convoy after convoy loaded with British and American tanks, guns, fuel, small arms, food and aircraft. Supplies from the Allied convoys kept the Soviet Union alive at a critical time during the early stages of the war, and Hitler therefore tried every means to stop the convoys.

Hidden in the lush vegetation of the Central American rainforest lie the remnants of the Mayan civilization. These ruins bear witness to a thriving society that flourished for almost four millennia. Here, rulers presided over communities with millions of inhabitants, scholars developed advanced mathematical calendars, and slaves toiled to raise pyramids so towering that they surpassed even the great structures of the Egyptians. Yet, inexplicably, the Mayans vanished from their cities, and their once-mighty civilization faded into obscurity.

By 1943, Adolf Hitler had realised that the German Army was no longer capable of fighting an offensive war. The army was short of men, guns and tanks, and the Luftwaffe could not afford to lose more aircraft. Consequently, when Hitler flew to his forward headquarters in Ukraine in February 1943, he brought with him a clear message: the German Army would no longer go on the offensive. For the next year, it would instead defend its positions and let the Red Army exhaust itself in futile attacks. As we know, that's not how history turned out.

The showdown should have been a brief affair, where the German Empire put its neighbours in their place. Encouraged by the spirit of adventure thousands of young men volunteered to defend the nation’s honour. On the other hand, in France, Britain and Russia optimism was just as high: the troops would be home by Christmas. But the reality was quite different. Soon the lines were locked in a deadly mud hell in the heart of Europe, and despite new weapons like poison gas, submarines, tanks and aircraft the war was protracted.

Predators, ruthless warriors, looters, barbarians - these are some of the words that were used to describe Vikings. However, do those words really paint a clear picture of who Vikings were? The answer is no. Vikings were an influential lot that completely changed how things were done in Europe both economically and socially. During their time, the Vikings were so dominant to everyone that they single-handedly shaped an era.

For more than 200 years, Egypt's ancient monuments have fascinated researchers and curiosity seekers worldwide. From small children's mummies to colossal pyramids, every archaeological find has been scrutinised to unravel the mysteries of one of the world's oldest civilisations. Initially, investigations were conducted with digging spoons, brushes, and meticulous archaeological methods. In recent years, advanced scanning and DNA analysis have been employed.

For six years, Britain and Nazi Germany fought a bitter battle for control of the Atlantic. Allied offensives against Hitler's armies on the continent were conditioned by their bases on the British Isles, which made air strikes and landings possible. But during 1939, the Germans began to ‘starve’ the British into surrender by cutting off vital supplies of food and equipment from the Allies. This was done with the help of U-boats that tried to sink more cargo ships than the shipyards could produce - even when these actions were suicidal.

In 52 BC, after six years of war against the Gallic tribes, Julius Caesar had tamed another enemy of the Roman Republic. Almost one million Gauls were taken as slaves, while their land became just another Roman province. Soon tonnes of grain along with lucrative taxes were flowing towards the imperial capital, whose inhabitants enjoyed all the luxuries of the provinces. Everything had changed since outlaws had founded Rome almost 500 years earlier.

On 27th January 1944, Stalin declares that Leningrad has been liberated. After a siege lasting two and a half years, German forces retreat with the Red Army in hot pursuit. Encouraged by the victory, Soviet general Govorov decides to liberate Estonia, but in the battle of Narva, the Germans upset his plans, and the front comes to a temporary halt. Hitler's forces are feeling the pressure on all sides, however.

With Europe overrun by Hitler’s thundering war machine, Churchill is the only head of state with the courage to stand up to the Führer. The British Prime Minister’s iron will makes him a role model in Great Britain and across the continent. Churchill and his V-sign become a symbol of resistance against Nazi Germany. In Germany in February 1942, armaments minister Albert Speer has the job of making sure that there’s a steady supply of prisoners of war to man the plants and factories -at the same time as the SS are on a killing spree.

The battle is won, the enemy driven out, and everyone can breathe again. Many field generals thought this - but generals often make mistakes. Throughout World War II, specially trained soldiers made sure that the enemy never rested in peace. Command units struck anywhere and at any time: a German general was kidnapped in the middle of Crete, while commandos liberated Benito Mussolini from his prison on a mountain top. And British units blew up factories in a Norwegian town to deprive Germany of important raw materials.

On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. The country needed to be subjugated quickly before Britain and France could intervene. Germany’s Panzer divisions proved unstoppable. Backed by the Luftwaffe, they smashed through Poland’s defences, destroying roads, bridges, and radio stations. The Polish defended valiantly, but were eventually forced to surrender. By 6th of October, Poland was in German hands.